JILLA MOVIE REVIEW

'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay coming back to do his 6th film for 'Super Good Films' is quite a news, because it was this production house which produced most of his selected, few hits at the beginning stages of his career. Throw in one of the finest actors India ever produced, Mohanlal into the frame and the the expectations just ballooned sky-high. R.T Neason's 'Jilla' made all the noises for its commercial entertainment value. Did the director justify the presence of two larger-than-life heroes ?

As for Vijay, there's literally nothing new, when it comes to differentiating 'Jilla' from his previous flicks. He has firmly cemented himself in his comfort zone, and he had a gala time enacting the lead role of this film. Dance, comic timing, punch-dialogues, action sequence performance, a couple of sentimental scenes and that's about it. The man's definitely going to pull it off with aplomb, when he is doing it for the umpteenth time. Mohanlal comes out with a very dignified performance, befitting his age and repertoire. Even his facial muscles, can pull of the toughest of scenes ! A true legend, but sadly this movie does nothing much to accentuate that statement. Kajal Aggarwal looked pretty. Sufficed the need of the script. Soori dons the role of the main comedian for the first time in a big-hero flick and he comes out clean, though there's nothing much of scope for him. A battalion of character artistes are there in the film such as Mahat Raghavendra, Niveda Thomas, Sampath Raj, Pradeep Rawat, R.K, Thambi Ramaiah, 'Black' Pandi, Ravi Mariya, Poornima Bhagyaraj, Gautam Kurup, Vidyullekha Raman, Madhumitha, Jayabalan and etc, where most of them have been thrust with inconsequential roles and making a presence, for no apparent reasons.

Komal Shahani and S.Rajendran have done neat work with their costume designing, especially for Vijay and Mohanlal. Could have been better for Kajal's, though. The stunt department of the film, must have worked over-time, plenty of times for this film, with so many action blocks ! Silva's action choreography was very apt for Vijay's body language and one can say Silva had a big role in further elevating Vijay's heroism aspect. The first, the one in the middle (right before interval) and the climax fight sequences, were the best among the lot. Rajeevan's production design was rich and its quite obvious that no expense was spared, in terms of production, with so many props and set-work, especially for the songs. Editor Don Max, must have gone on snooze mode while editing, because the nearly 3 hour duration, has no single justification at all ! To be frank, the first one hour was just a total waste of time (and Money !). Ganesh Rajavelu's cinematography complemented the need of the script. Kudos for him for presenting Vijay and Mohanlal, in the right angles and frames, which gives their characters, the larger-than-life look and feel. Action sequences, are the highlights of Ganesh's work. 

D.Imman continues his fine form, with some nice tracks in the film. The "Jilla Theme" track is present throughout the film, in important scenes. "Paattu Onnu" is the opening song which featured both Vijay and Mohanlal together, in a grand village festival kind of atmosphere, which was looked rich and mass ! The bonhomie shared between the two male leads, was cute. "Verasa Pogayile" was shot on a purpose-built set of streets, with colorful Tamil Nadu traditional folk dancers and their respective, elaborate costumes. The entire song was shot in a slow-motion effect, in tune with the song's feel. "Jingunamani" is an item song, which featured Scarlett Mellish Wilson in a special appearance. The set work by Rajeevan imbibed the mood of the song well, and Ganesh's lighting is a highlight. The pick of the lot from the album, "Kandaangi" sung by Shreya Goshal and Vijay himself, was shot on the lead pair, in the cool climates of Osaka and Kobe. The beautiful temple backdrop and colorful landscape is a treat for fans of such visuals. "Yeppa Mama" is the last song, which is atypical of commercial films, with back-up dancers, colorful sets and crazy dance movements. D.Imman is slowly becoming an acute composer, when it comes to background scoring, and he has proved his mettle with 'Jilla' as well.

R.T Neason, who previously directed the low-budget 2007 film 'Muruga', has the sole intention of making a mass, 'masala' film with two high-profile male actors. There's clearly no intention of writing a decent and engaging screenplay (apart from the climax), proper characterizations for the artistes, continuity and logic sense in the script. The writing is just simply farcical, and he has placed his bet only on Vijay & Mohanlal's pairing, coupled with some twists in the story-line. But apart from that, 'Jilla' is just a over-the-top film and its certainly a few steps backwards, when it comes to improving Tamizh cinema's quality. Most of the comedy sequences fell flat, completely and looks silly to the core ! The sole purpose of projecting Vijay as a mass, action star was the only thing R.T Neason has and could achieve with such a below-average script. 

'Jilla' - Watch it if you don't mind adjusting your sensibilities and tastes for good cinema. The rating below is purely for the R.B Choudhary's production values and for the combo of Vijay & Mohanlal. 


Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL